1. Field
The present disclosure relates generally to communication systems, and more particularly, to a hybrid voltage controlled oscillator (VCO).
2. Background
A wireless device (e.g., a cellular phone or a smartphone) may transmit and receive data for two-way communication with a wireless communication system. The wireless device may include a transmitter for data transmission and a receiver for data reception. For data transmission, the transmitter may modulate a transmit local oscillator (LO) signal with data to obtain a modulated radio frequency (RF) signal, amplify the modulated RF signal to obtain an output RF signal having the desired output power level, and transmit the output RF signal via an antenna to a base station. For data reception, the receiver may obtain a received RF signal via the antenna, amplify and downconvert the received RF signal with a receive LO signal, and process the downconverted signal to recover data sent by the base station.
The wireless device may include one or more oscillators to generate one or more oscillator signals at one or more desired frequencies. The oscillator signal(s) may be used to generate the transmit LO signal for the transmitter and the receive LO signal for the receiver. The oscillator(s) may be required to generate the oscillator signal(s) to meet the requirements of the wireless communication system with which the wireless device communicates.
A wireless device may support communication with wireless systems of different radio technologies, which may have different requirements for the transmit LO signal and/or the receive LO signal. The different requirements may require having multiple oscillators with different characteristics (e.g., good phase noise and low power consumption). Having multiple oscillators with different characteristics to support different radio technologies may increase circuit area, circuit complexity, and cost and may also have other disadvantages. As such, there is a need for a single hybrid/multi-mode oscillator that is configurable into different modes/configurations, including a first mode for providing low power consumption and a second mode for providing good phase noise performance. Using a single multi-mode oscillator to support multiple radio technologies with different oscillator requirements may reduce circuit area, circuit complexity, and cost and may also have other advantages.